【Ferro-alloys.com】：Fluorspar has been in the background of the global industry for a long time; however, that seems to be changing as it takes over the spotlight, writes Dr Nicolaas C Steenkamp for African Mining, Incorporating Mining Mirror.

From the furnaces of aluminium smelters to the chemistry labs producing electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, fluorspar is central to technologies that underpin modern life: refrigeration, pharmaceuticals, steelmaking and increasingly, the energy transition. In South Africa, the mineral’s geological variety and the emergence of new projects have renewed commercial and strategic interest, with companies such as Vergenoeg and SepFluor at the centre of the conversation.

Geological settings

Fluorite occurs in several geological environments and South Africa’s endowment is striking because it features multiple deposit types with differing mining and beneficiation implications. Two main deposit types stand out in the South African context. First are the Bushveld-related and igneous-hosted deposits, where fluorite is commonly associated with volcanic activity. An example of fluorspar associated with magmatic/hydrothermal systems is the Nokeng and Wallmannsthal being developed by SepFluor, with deposits that are described as haematite-fluorite systems with volcanic/tectonic controls and high in-situ CaF? grades suitable for acidspar production.

Second are the dolomite-hosted, where fluorite is developed as replacement mineralisation along the layering and stromatolite structures. The proposed SAFluorspar, outside Zeerust and the defunct Witkop Mine that historically supplied large volumes of both acidspar and metallurgical fluorspar.

Igneous-hosted and hydrothermal deposits can deliver higher-grade, purer acidspar (≥97% CaF?), suited to chemical feedstock use; whereas carbonate-hosted deposits may require more processing to remove gangue but can nonetheless be excellent sources of metallurgical fluorspar for steel and ironmaking.

Acidspar and metalspar

The fluorspar product suite is commonly divided into acidspar (chemical or acid grade), ceramicspar (intermediate) and metallurgical grade (metspar). Acidspar typically contains ≥97% CaF? and is the feedstock for hydrofluoric acid (HF) production. HF is the gateway to almost every fluorochemical, including refrigerants, fluoropolymers, aluminium fluoride and many fine chemicals. Metallurgical fluorspar (metspar), lower in CaF?, is predominantly used as a flux in steel and iron smelting.

Global demand is split by end-use. Historically, acidspar has commanded premium prices because hydrofluoric acid production underpins high-value fluorochemicals. Metspar is a bulk market, more price-sensitive and linked to cyclical steel production. Recent market work suggests acidspar represents a majority share of value despite being smaller by tonnage in some regions, precisely because of its downstream role in chemically complex supply chains.

For miners and investors, this matters: acidspar projects (or those with the ability to beneficiate to acidspar) can access higher margins but require cleaner feedstock and often greater processing investment (crushing, dense media separation, flotation and chemical upgrading). Projects sitting on carbonate-hosted mineralisation often target metspar unless they can economically upgrade product quality.

South African players

South Africa has long been one of the world’s important fluorspar jurisdictions. Vergenoeg Mining Company (VMC), historically the country’s dominant producer, remains a heavyweight with significant production capacity and a long mine life. SepFluor has emerged in recent years as a vertically integrated challenger, developing the Nokeng mine and beneficiation/chemicals complex to move up the value chain into acidspar and downstream fluorochemicals. Smaller operations and dolomite-hosted projects complement the supply base.

This diversification of supply within South Africa is important at a time when global fluorspar markets are being reshaped by geopolitics, trade flows and new demand streams tied to clean energy technologies. SepFluor’s strategy to deliver acidspar and to explore beneficiation into fluorochemicals highlights the commercial pull towards value-adding rather than simply selling bulk metspar into sometimes thin world markets.

The refrigeration connection

One of fluorspar’s best-understood industrial roles is as the feedstock for hydrofluoric acid. Roughly speaking, reacting fluorspar with sulphuric acid yields HF and HF in turn is the precursor to a vast array of fluorocarbons used historically as refrigerants (HCFCs, HFCs) and in modern low-GWP HFOs and other refrigerant chemistries. Estimates suggest that more than half of HF production has been tied historically to refrigerant manufacture, a critical industrial application globally. Interruptions to acidspar supply have ripple effects through refrigeration and air-conditioning supply chains, which are essential to food distribution, pharmaceuticals and climate control.

The refrigerant market has itself been in transition, driven by environmental regulations (Montreal Protocol, Kigali Amendment) and a scramble to develop low-global-warming-potential alternatives. That transition has changed product mixes but not the fundamental dependence on HF and, therefore, on acidspar. The refrigeration sector remains a major, durable demand anchor for acidspar.

Fluorspar and EV batteries

A newer and fast-growing source of demand for fluorine is the battery industry. Lithium-ion battery technology hooks into fluorspar multiple ways: fluorinated binders such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) are used extensively as polymer binders for cathode active materials and for coatings; LiPF? (lithium hexafluorophosphate), the most common lithium-ion electrolyte salt, is a fluorine-containing compound; and certain advanced electrolyte salts and additives are fluorinated for stability and performance. These materials trace back chemically to HF and fluorine chemistry that begins with fluorspar.

Industry analysts have highlighted that the rapid build-out of battery gigafactories increases demand for fluorine-derived materials, not only for the active cells but also for precursor materials such as spherical graphite, where HF is used in purification and for fluorinated binders. While the tonnage of fluorspar per EV is small compared with lithium or cobalt, the value contribution can be significant and the scaling challenge real: large battery programmes translate into meaningful incremental demand for acidspar-derived products.

The fluorspar-battery relationship is not a direct one-for-one: several chemical intermediates and value-chain actors stand between mined CaF? and the finished electrolyte or PVDF. Global supply-chain bottlenecks for example, HF capacity concentrated in a handful of jurisdictions can therefore create upstream opportunities for miners and chemical integrators who can guarantee reliable acidspar feedstock.

Market dynamics – pricing pressures

Market studies in recent years point to modest compound annual growth for the global fluorspar market but significant structural shifts in demand composition. Reports indicate global fluorspar production and demand in the order of 7–8 million tonnes per year (mid-2020s estimates), with forecast growth driven by chemicals and battery sectors, even as metals demand (steel) remains important. Supply concentration, with China historically dominant in production, has left markets sensitive to trade policy, environmental controls and mining disruptions, opening space for alternative supply origins, including South Africa.

Price behaviour is twofold, where acidspar commands a premium and is less price-elastic than metspar; metspar prices track steel cycles and bulk commodity dynamics. The economics for a South African producer will therefore hinge on the ability to produce and sell acidspar or to secure long-term offtake contracts for metspar into regional steel and ferroalloy markets. Vertical integration into HF or aluminium fluoride production can further stabilise revenues.

Mining fluorspar responsibly
Like many industrial minerals, fluorspar mining carries environmental and social impacts that require careful management. Dust, beneficiation effluents, handling of sulphuric acid and HF downstream, and groundwater management in carbonate terrains can all become community concerns. Moreover, as major downstream uses involve refrigerants and other chemicals with environmental externalities, producers are increasingly expected to demonstrate lifecycle stewardship from mine to end-use.

South African operators have been responsive in adaptation, such as the design of modern beneficiation plants, emissions controls, community development programmes and efforts to build local downstream capacity, chemical plants and fluorochemical beneficiation are part of the sector’s emerging narrative. However, investors and regulators will watch attentively as production scales up.

Opportunities and strategy
South Africa is well-placed to convert its geological diversity into a resilient fluorspar industry for several reasons:

Resource depth and diversity. The country hosts large, varied deposits, from Bushveld-related systems, volcanic/haematite-fluorite types and dolomite-hosted, giving miners optionality on grade and product type.
Proximity to key industrial markets. Europe and Asia remain major consumers of acidspar; South Africa can potentially supply value-added products competitively with the right logistics and offtake arrangements.
Value-chain potential. The strategic prize is not merely mining CaF? but moving into HF, aluminium fluoride and higher-value fluorochemicals. Building local downstream capacity would capture more value and buffer miners from volatile metspar markets.

But challenges remain: capex for beneficiation and chemical plants is high, product quality must meet exacting chemical specifications, and global HF capacity and fluorochemical markets are themselves evolving under environmental regulation. That means offtake partnerships, sovereign support for strategic minerals, and careful environmental management will be central to unlocking South Africa’s fluorspar potential.

Looking ahead

As the world decarbonises, certain minerals become quietly strategic because they are feedstocks rather than obvious battery metals. Fluorspar is one of them. The mineral’s trajectory will be shaped by how its dual markets, the traditional chemical/refrigerant chain and the emergent battery/battery-adjacent demand, evolve together.

For South Africa, the near-term commercial story is about converting geological advantage to marketable product and then deciding how much value chain to retain. Vergenoeg’s large resource base, SepFluor’s beneficiation and plant investments, and a patchwork of dolomite-hosted operations together present a mix of supply that global buyers will watch closely as they secure feedstocks for refrigeration, aluminium and batteries. If managed well, fluorspar could be one of those unglamorous minerals that quietly contribute to both industrial continuity and the clean energy transition and one that South Africa is well-placed to supply.

• [Editor:Alakay]